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China's new GPS-like navigation system called part of buildup
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Special to World Tribune.com
EAST-ASIA-INTEL.COM
Thursday, April 26, 2007
China is setting up a satellite navigation system to challenge the U.S. global position system — a key strategic asset for precision-guided weapons.
China launched a Compass navigation satellite April 14 that is part of its new satellite navigation system, official Chinese press reports said.
“This latest Compass-M1 satellite, orbiting at 21,500 kilometers above the earth, is part of China's plan to construct the Compass navigational system,” the newspaper People’s Daily quoted officials sources as saying.
A Long March 3-A carrier rocket blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province on April 14 with a navigation satellite aboard.
AP/Xinhua, Li Gang
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U.S. military analysts say the satellites are part of China’s military buildup, specifically efforts to develop precision-guided missiles.
The Pentagon said China is close to deploying a long-range land-attack cruise missile similar to the U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile.
Chinese missile developers, including the China Academy of Space Technology and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, part of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, are developing the satellite navigation system.
Four Compass satellites have been launched since 2000 that provide global positioning system details.
“China is not only capable of having its own global position system; it needs one given its vast territory,” the newspaper said.
Copyright © 2007 East West
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